Book Publicists: What Writers Should Know

The dream of any author going into publication—whether traditionally or self-publication—is for their story to become a bestseller and feature in exclusive interviews on prime-time shows. Hiring a publicist is usually the first idea for many and the only idea for others. There are many ways through which book publicist help authors to achieve good sales. A longtime book publicist, Maryglenn McCombs mentioned that “PR is one component of selling books. It is not the only component.”

Besides improved book sales and the opportunity of holding interviews, a successful book publicity campaign will beam more light on your book with the potential of attracting more brand cachet and help the author grab more clients and endorsement deals. These benefits make hiring a publicist a big deal. With the market flooded with publicist having the right expectation and knowledge about book publicists will help the author make the right selection. Below are some of the things authors should know about book publicist.

Versatility

Every media serve different categories of audiences in terms of age and preference. A versatile book publicist will look for ways to tailor your story to fit into any media demographic at any time. Tanya Hall also mentioned that “Having multiple angles in your pitching arsenal is also necessary in case what seemed to be the most obvious angle just isn’t working.” When there are lots of competing current events, coming from a new angle can stand you out of the competition.

Goal

The general opinion is that authors go into writing to make a living. Inasmuch as that may not be false, the short and long-term goal of one author may differ from another. A good publicist should be able to identify the author's goal and work with them to achieve this aim. Sara Wigal in a guest post to Writers Digest said, “A successful publicity campaign has tiered goals; some of these objectives might include building a strong brand, immediate sales, or, if indie published, eventually picked up by a traditional publisher.” A good publicist will come up with a good plan that will help the author to meet their goal.Sincerity

It is important to find a publicist that is sincere. Having a publicist that will say yes to everything you say might not be in your best interest. A dose of tough love from your publicist is often the motivation that you need to maintain a reasonable expectation. Inasmuch as publicists may not be in the game of rejecting stories like traditional publishers, they should be able to point out which areas of your stories need to be polished. According to Hall, “The most effective publicists serve as partners to help you grow your brand.”

While CreateSpace is the most popular self-publishing platform, it doesn’t provide publicists support. Writers who use Agora Publishing will not only enjoy the benefit of having all the publishing tools and guides in one place, they also enjoy book publicist support to help them reach their writing career goals.